Where can I find out more about documerica?
This overview by C. Jerry Simmons, published in a 2009 issue of Prologue, is a good place to start. This online exhibit, produced in collaboration with Google Arts & Culture, is another useful introduction to DOCUMERICA's formation, development, and core aims.
The National Archives website provides access to more than 15,000 digitized photographs and has done some cataloging of the DOCUMERICA archive by location, topic, and photographer. Many of these unrestored photographs are also available via the National Archives' Flickr page.
The National Archives website provides access to more than 15,000 digitized photographs and has done some cataloging of the DOCUMERICA archive by location, topic, and photographer. Many of these unrestored photographs are also available via the National Archives' Flickr page.
who runs this site?
E. James West is a lecturer in modern US History at the University of York. His research focuses on modern American history, particularly histories of race, rights, and media.
WHY DID YOU SET THIS SITE UP?
I believe that DOCUMERICA offers a vibrant and multifaceted portrait of Black life in the 1970s that is largely unknown. At the most basic level, I hope that this project will introduce more people to DOCUMERICA, and in particular to its representations of Black life and culture.
This project was also created to mark fifty years since DOCUMERICA's introduction to the American public in November 1971. This anniversary provides an opportune moment to critically reflect on the project's visual interventions and reconsider its relevance to current debates around the climate crisis and the enduring and interconnected challenges of environmental, racial, and economic inequality in the twenty-first century.
This project was also created to mark fifty years since DOCUMERICA's introduction to the American public in November 1971. This anniversary provides an opportune moment to critically reflect on the project's visual interventions and reconsider its relevance to current debates around the climate crisis and the enduring and interconnected challenges of environmental, racial, and economic inequality in the twenty-first century.
how you do restore the images?
All of the upscaling, color adjustments, blemish removal, etc. on the DOCUMERICA photographs which appear on this site are done using Affinity Photo.
CAN I GET HIGHER-QUALITY VERSIONS OF THE IMAGes?
I'm hoping to make higher quality versions of the restored images available soon. There are other sites out there - including this one - which are also restoring DOCUMERICA images, although they don't have the specific focus on African American representation that this project does.
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